Blues in the Scale of S
by Yoshenga-san
Summary: The name's Sanosuke. I'm 26, and I play and sing the Blues. I've been playing since I was 9 and I've gotten pretty good. But what can I say? Times are hard in the city. WARNING: Excessive use of Language, Violence, Sexual Content
1. Introduction

Blues in the Scale of S

The name's Sanosuke. I'm 26, and I play and sing the Blues. I've been playing since I was 9 and I've gotten pretty good. But what can I say? Times are hard in the city.

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the Rurouni Kenshin characters. They all belong to Watsuki-sama. Plain and simple, that's all.

Now, I'm pretty sure I know what you're thinkin': Here's this guy and he's gonna tell us about how hard life is so as far as I can give a fuck, my shit's more important. Now, let me tell you something, no doubt life's hard, but that's something we've all gotta deal with at some point or another, don'tcha think? So stop thinking that crap and listen because I'm not here to tell you about my troubles. Matter of fact, I'm here to tell you about how I managed to get away from them. It all started six months ago…

6 Months Earlier

When I think about it, it's pretty hard to believe that my brain hasn't given out on me yet. That was the first thought I had that Sunday morning waking up in the bed of a woman I'd slept with the night before. I'm not gonna lie, she was a pretty good lay. She was about the best I'd gotten in a couple of weeks. Even still, the morning after is pretty awkward when I remembered she's married.

I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at a ceiling fan. It was spinning pretty fast, and that wasn't making my hangover any easier to deal with. I couldn't remember how many drinks I had the night before… Hell, I still can't remember how many drinks I had that night.

All I know is that they kept coming one after another 'cause the lady next to me heard me play and she really liked my material… Alright, fine, she just wanted a rub-n-tug and she liked what she saw. Cut me some slack, even guys like me like to have the benefit of a doubt sometimes. By the time I got up and out of bed, I wasn't ready for the sight that met my half-asleep eyes.

I ended up concluding that we fucked all over the room because it was a shit-kicker of a mess. She had little trinkets that fell off her dresser. And not to mention the mirror on it looked like it was going to fall any minute. I was hoping it wouldn't 'cause I wouldn't have been able to pay for the damages. What do you expect? You think I'm B.B. King? No way, man, I'm just another musician. It's hard enough finding work without thinking about the shit we have to pay for.

The smell of perfume was all over the place. I guessed the reason was because there were broken bottles on the floor with spilled shit on the rug. That must've been the other reason why my eyes were hurting so bad. There was so much smell in the air it stung enough to keep them open.

Our clothes were all over the floor. I was pretty thankful that she didn't have as much on as I did. With a hangover like the one I had, the differences between our clothes were almost impossible to see. It's pretty sad to say 'cause I like to think that I've got the tolerance of a herd of oxen. Guess you can't beat 'em all, huh?

Having a look at the aftermath of what I've come to call "Sex of the Apocalypse", I got up the strength to get myself out of bed. I wanted to scratch myself, but I had to face the facts, it wasn't going to be happening for another few hours. My dick was so sore that I could feel the blood pulsing through it even after all that went on the night before.

I tried to keep myself steady as I found my old pair of jeans and slid them back on. By the time I got my shirt and long coat on, I came to a really shitty realization. It's the kind of thing that most musicians don't want to have to worry about the morning after a few hours of hardcore, drunk pounding. I couldn't find my guitar.

Right then and there, I could feel my nerves begin to shred. A sweat was forming at my forehead and my blood was boiling. All I needed to do was get big and turn green and you'd have yourself a living, breathing comic-book character. Long story short, I went crazy looking all over this woman's place to look for it.

Now, before you pass this off as the typical sentimental bullshit, let me tell you a little something about my guitar. For one thing, it's a 1966 white Fender Stratocaster. For another, it was given to me by the greatest musician I'd ever met in my entire life. What's more, he was my best friend. His name was Sagara Sozo. He was the leader of this fucking tight band called "Sekiho". I was a part of it, and man did we ever know how to play.

I'll tell you, the licks he could play on that guitar were just not of this world, man. I shit you not, he would have given guys like Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan a run for their money. I played the rhythm guitar, which was a shitty loaner I always borrowed from him. We had Kenshin, who was the bassist and lead vocals in the group. He wasn't much of a singer, but man could he play the bass. And he didn't even start off playing it, you know. He was a guitarist, just like me or Soz, and he was damn good.

On the drums was Katsu. He wasn't the best drummer in the world, but man, for what he didn't have in technique, he made up for with speed. I'm telling you, when he took off, he could really throw down a beat unlike anything you've ever heard before.

So yeah, it was a few years back and we were playing this show at Percy's Tavern, a really small venue, right? The place was pretty packed, I remember and there were people screaming all over the place. I pulled a really crazy solo that night when we started covering Voodoo Chile. It was a great gig.

We were finishing the show off that night and Soz wasn't looking too great. He was sweating a lot and his playing was pretty off. The crowd couldn't even notice it considering I did my best to pick him right back up again with some of my own licks. And by the time the show was over, I decided I'd drive him home myself since he wasn't feeling too good.

And… well, um, some stuff led to some other things and in the end he gave me his guitar. Now here I am, a penniless musician with nothing to turn to but sex, the blues and some junk in between… even some money when I could find it. Funny how things work out… in't it?

I darted around the place as quickly as I could. I looked in her bathroom, kitchen, living room, fuck, I must've looked everywhere except under her sleeping, naked body. Finally, having enough of this, I ran back into the bedroom, looking through her closet, her dresser, anywhere it could be found. It was at that point where I heard her yawning behind my back. And just like that, I froze. Fuck, if she caught me getting up and going just like that, she'd throw me out, I thought.

I turned my head around to look at her, straightening up and trying to look like I wasn't doing anything suspicious. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who usually goes around sleeping with women and just leaving right after a crazy night of sex… 'cause the sex wasn't always as crazy as it was that night. But the way I looked then and there, dressed and pretty much ready to head out the door. Do I really need to say it?

We stared at each other for a couple of minutes, neither of us saying a word. It was worse than a Mexican stand-off. All we needed were a couple of guns and that song from that movie I can't remember the name of with that guy who's really good with a gun in his movies.

I couldn't stand it. I was at the point where I was just gonna break down. So finally, I made the move. I breathed in and spoke the only words that came to mind at the time,

"I gotta take a leak,"


	2. Hard Times

Chapter 2

Hard Times

It was about a good twenty minutes before I got back to my place. As it turned out she wasn't too far off from me; nine blocks, I think. Matter of fact, it's not something I really thought about, but man, even now when I realize I live so close to the up-town district it makes me laugh. If you're gonna ask why, it's 'cause the neighbourhood I live in is a complete shithole. And believe me, I wish I was joking.

I live in the place where you've only gotta pay the lowest amount of rent and you've gotta dodge a few bullets when you walk down the street. We've got all kinds of illegal shit going on around here, too like prostitution, drugs, gangs, theft, even murder. Fuck, it's so bad I can tell you when and where everything goes on just by pointing them out from my balcony.

Still though, not all of it's that bad. If anything, you can say it's callused rather than shitty. See, there are good folks living in this neighbourhood 'cause they can't pay much higher than what they pay here for a home. And what's more is that some of 'em are even good enough to help out some of the kids who've gotten themselves into different kinds of shit and are tryin' to get out. The truth is, you've just gotta know all the little in's and outs of the place. It's a pretty easy system to get. You don't bother anyone, they won't bother you, simple as that.

When I finally got back to my apartment building, I made my way up to the third floor and back home. And you know, no matter what, it really is true what they say: There's no place like it. I may be a guy who likes to go out and have a good time and who usually ends up working the night shift to get money, but I'd never stay anywhere for longer than a night.

I locked the door behind me before taking my load off. I slid off my guitar and stood it against the wall before sliding off my jacket and tossing it onto the couch. And yeah, it's not hard to guess that I just walked over to my bedroom and fell face first into the sweet feeling of my long worn out mattress and that shitty excuse of a pillow. I turned myself around to lie on my back and took in the lingering smell of the weed that was still there from three nights ago.

Katsu came by that night, I remember. Haha, man, he can't smoke for the life of him. I don't even get why he does it. I mean the guy always starts coughing after the second toke and he sometimes even throws up every now and then. Nah, I find he's more of a drinker, like me. I guess he just likes the company. After all, he's been doing the whole loner thing for about a year now, but it just doesn't work for him. I've told him that time and time again, but he never listens. Either way, the guy knows he's welcome whenever he feels like stopping by. I usually let him crash on the couch.

I turned my head to look at the blinking light that was flashing on my night table. It was a three in the middle of my answering machine, and that could mean only one thing. You guessed it, three people called me during the night and I wasn't there to answer. Thus, I had three messages on my machine to listen to. Goody gumdrops.

I pressed the button and let the machine play whatever it had to so I could pass out and get some sleep before my show:

_First Unheard Message_

_Sano, it's Ken. We need to talk. Call me back as soon as you can, alright? Thanks._

_**~BEEP~**_

_ Second Unheard Message_

_Hey Sano, it's Niko, your landlord calling. Just wanna let you know you're late on last month's rent. I mean, shit, you're always late with the rent, can't you just pay it on time like most of the normal people. Why do you have to be such a--_

Before I could even bother listening to the rest of his crap, I slammed my fist on the delete button. It isn't that I didn't want to pay the rent. It's just that… well, I couldn't. Not at least until after the show. I don't even get why he has to rag on my ass about it like he does. He knows the system, but he can't get used to it at this point. He knows I always come through, he just likes being a dick, I guess.

_Third Unheard Message_

_Sano, it's Katsu! How're you doin', buddy?? Hey, listen man, I just got an ear to this gig going on next week. A guy at a jazz club needs a guitarist. So who are they gonna call? Don't say Ghostbusters. Call me back ASAP._

So yeah, there you have it, a little bit of an insight into the shit that goes on day-in and day-out in my life. Now, here's the scoop on message number one. Kenshin's always calling me 'cause he thinks I've become an alcoholic and he wants to put me into all kinds of meetings and shit. He even had the fucking nerve to hold an intervention in my apartment. I wanna just get one thing straight. I like to drink, okay? But there's no way in Hell that I'm an alcoholic. I drink when I want, and when I do I drink a lot. That's Kenshin though. He worries way too much, especially about me.

He's always been like that, even from when we were younger. I think I met him about when I was fourteen. We always just ended up being tight together like brothers, you know? He looked out for my back, I looked out for his. I always looked up to him, in a way. He was always that kind of big brother I never really had aside from Soz.

Anyway, now the guy's thirty two and he's a detective on the police force. That's no surprise considering he's seriously one of the most talented people I've ever met. I find he really pities me sometimes when he sees the road I've gone down. It pisses me off sometimes, but I know the guy cares about me. Still, he should at least have the respect to look at me as a man and not as the fuckin' cripple he probably thinks I am.

As for message three, Katsu's always felt like he owes me something for letting him crash in my place and helping him out when he just needs some company so he's always going around looking for different gigs that I can use. I'll tell you though, it kills me to look at him when he comes by. He always looks so down and out, so fried. His eyes are dark underneath, he's usually got scruff growing on his face. He even sometimes comes by smelling like a sewer rat. I sometimes think about why he comes here 'cause I know he has his own stuff back at his place. It's not hard to tell though.

Alright, as much as I hate talking about this, I'm gonna let you guys in on something. That night when I brought Soz back to my place after the show, I made him sleep on the bed while I slept on the couch. But the next morning when I woke up and went to check on him, he wasn't breathing.

The doctors said he died of cardiac arrest. It's something I still can't believe to this day, and it still fuckin' kills me to think about it. It hurt all of us, but none as hard as me or Katsu. As it was, I went crazy for a few months. They had to send me to this place where mourning guys like me could recover from the shock. Katsu came with me, too, but if you ask me, he still hasn't gotten over it.

I can't say I've gotten over it either 'cause Soz was like an idol of mine, you know? But to Katsu… well, I think it was more than just Soz being a big brother figure. I've thought about it now and again and I'm still not sure if he is, but I've always thought Katsu was gay to some degree. I think he may have tried to make moves on me once or twice, but I'm still not completely sure. It's weird, kinda like a dildo wrapped in a mystery.

Anyway, I just sighed as I put my head back and closed my eyes. If I was gonna get any sleep before the show, it'd have to be now.

* * *

"Sano, have you been drinking again?"

What did I tell you would happen? I got about five hours of sleep before I headed to the venue. Before I left, I gave Kenshin a call to at least ease his suffering by telling him to meet me there. I knew this was coming, so I was about ready to be completely honest with him, "Now what would make you think that, Kenshin?"

"It's hard not to smell it on you. Or the perfume for that matter,"

I just sighed, shaking my head, "Kenshin, what difference does it make whether I drink or don't drink? I mean, seriously, have I broken the law at all? Name me three laws I've broken in the past three years!"

I really shouldn't have asked that, "Possession of marijuana, domestic disturbance, damage of public property, public urination as well as drunkenness, brawling, theft under a thousand, grand theft auto…" As always, he was just too slick for me. Not to mention the way he just… was. I mean, he was calm as a rock with the way he stared me down from across the table as I put my hand over his mouth to shit him up.

"Alright, alright," I said, "I told you to only name three, sheesh!"

He pushed my hand away from his mouth, leaning his arms on the table before he continued to speak, "I don't need to mention that you did all those things while you were seriously under the influence, Sano. And I don't understand why it is you have to use these substances to be happy,"

I continued staring at him as I sat back in my chair and scoffed at his thoughts, "Who says I'm happy?" I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling my right eye twitch slightly before I said whatever else I had to say, "Let me get something straight, Kenshin, alright? Now, you know I've always respected you,"

He nodded slightly, "Yes, and I've always respected you, Sano,"

I shook my head, feeling a little shocked that he said that, "Nope, no you haven't," I said, "See, I know you don't think my lifestyle's ideal. And you're fucking right, it isn't. If the whole world were like me, then the only need the economy would have would be alcohol and fast food. I don't have much in the bank, I don't work much and I only make enough money just to get by, in the poor districts. So yeah, my lifestyle's shitty, but it's a life. I've got all I need, I've got dope, I've got booze, I've got just about any woman I could want and I've got a shitload of Blues in my head and in my heart. You're right, it's not the most respectable lifestyle in the world, but it's what I do. And I want you to respect that! I'm not a big success, I know. I don't have wads of cash coming out my ass, I know. I barely have enough to live, whatever that means! I, fucking, know! What more is there out of me you want, Kenshin, huh?! You've done nothing but disrespect me time and time again 'cause I get into shit with the law, huh?!"

Kenshin just continued to look up at me. His eyes were cold and filled with pity for me, "That's not true, Sano…"

I couldn't take it anymore, I got up from my chair and I slammed my fist on the table, "Why don't you just admit it, Kenshin?! You think I'm a complete loser! You have no respect for me, you just want me to be a straight-laced motherfucker who plays guitar on his own time while going and getting a desk job, or even some kind of trade job, right?! Why don't you just admit it, you stupid detective cunt?!!"

Before I could even see it, he'd already got out of his chair and punched me straight across my face. Now, I'll tell you this, I'd never taken a hit as hard as that before from anyone. But Kenshin was pissed, and he had every right to be. I'll never forget the words he told me when he knelt down beside me right after that and he looked down into my eyes, "If I had no respect for you, Sano… you would be in a jail cell right now…"

Just like that, I got a punch to the face and a mental slap in the head. As I watched him storm out of the bar, I could feel the regret of my words pulse in my heart. When I got up, I looked at the door. I wanted to go after him and apologize, but when you're a guy like me, money is always the one who comes first.


	3. Keep Your Hands to Yourself

DISCLAIMER: This is for the last chapter as well. I don't own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters or any rights to music by The Beatles.

Chapter 3

Keep Your Hands to Yourself

I could feel the bruise really throbbing on my face while I was up on stage. To put it real plain, it hurt like a bitch. Normally, I'm not a guy who usually gets these things, even if someone's tried beating the crap out of me. But Kenshin… well, after all these years of being with him, I got used to the fact that he's really just that good. How he got that good's something I'm not even gonna try and figure out.

It was about half-hour into the band's set when I started to play one of my signature songs: Come Together, a tune I'm still pretty crazy about from The Beatles. I started things off with my own solo, just a little riff I picked up somewhere along the way. And when the lyrics came in, I put my lips to the microphone and I let it go, man. And I'll tell you, there's no feeling that compares to singin' on stage like that,

_"Here come old flattop he come, groovin' up slowly he got, joo-joo eyeball he one, holy roller he say, "I know you, you know me. One thing I can tell you is you've got to be free. Come together, right now! Over me…"_

Yeah, I'm not gonna bore you with all the details. I'll just say that it was a pretty alright set. It didn't feel right though. For one, Katsu wasn't there backing me up, so my sound wasn't as sharp as it could've been. He couldn't have been there, anyhow. I was backing a band from around the city.

They called themselves "The Modern Hitch", whatever the fuck that means. I remember them telling me on the phone that their lead guitarist was sick so they asked me to fill in. What I find so stupid is that they only knew me from a couple of my gigs they attended. I mean, for fuck's sake, they're a punk band, and I'm a blues guitarist. Did we mix? Nah, not at all. But hey, I have my ways of making things work out. All I shoulda did was change the sign in the front to "Sanosuke and his Travelling Circus, The Modern Hitch". Haha, that woulda turned some heads, wouldn't it?

* * *

By the time it was over and I got paid, the lead vocalist went up to me after the show with a stupid grin on his face,

"I've gotta say, Sano, I never woulda thought you were _that_ good. I mean, I saw your sets in the past, but I didn't know you knew how to play like you did today,"

I'm not sure if that's what he said. I didn't really give a shit, to be honest. I just nodded and closed up my guitar case before I headed out of the bar,

"See you around,"

_How anti-social_, you socialite mother-fuckers must be thinking. Let me just get something straight. I'm not a guy who usually talks to other people outside of my social circle all that much. In fact, you can even call me a bit of a sadist 'cause I thought it was pretty fuckin' funny with Ichiro looking pissed off like that. What's even funnier is that he can't do anything to me even if he tried, him being the little bitch he was.

When I got out of that bar, I took out a cig from the pack I had in my pocket. I'll tell you, lighting up that first drag after making some good money always feels fucking great. It's like… I dunno. I guess it's kinda like breaking the tape at the end of a marathon or something, y'know? Don't matter if you won or not 'cause fuck, you just ran a marathon! And at this point, just about any gig I can get feels like a marathon… er, well _finding _a gig is where the marathon comes in, I think. Finishing a gig's like breaking the tape and the cig's my pig-out feast after it. Ah, fuck it, you get the point.

Now, I was walking down Baker street at the time. I think it was about three o'clock in the AM. I was feeling pretty good. I had seven hundred bucks in cold hard cash and a smile on my face. Now all I needed to do was make the victory lap back to my place and the night woulda been perfect. But you know how fate works. When you're feeling great, it's like the government: It's gotta take a slice of whatever you've got so it can still have a hold on your life. Fucking bitch, that is.

I was turning a corner not too far off from my place when I heard something. It came from the alleyway I was walking past. I didn't think about it much, but I knew it was the sound of a woman crying. Well… okay, not totally crying if you counted the little gasps in between. I was in such a good mood that I couldn't give a fuck about why she was crying. I just kinda passed it off as a couple that was trying to settle their differences with some out of the ordinary sex. You know, the public stuff.

I wasn't planning on poking my head in and asking what the fuck was going on. It was their business, I thought, no harm in some sex to feel good, you know? And hey, it was all good 'til I heard the sound of a slap and the following of a loud cry that could've only come from a woman's lips. And fuck, when I heard that, something in my body just snapped. I felt my cig fall out of my mouth before I looked into the long pathway between the two buildings and I started walking inside. When I look back at it, I think I did the right thing. But I still can't believe I had the balls or the strength to do what I did.

I got in deep enough to see a bit of light from the moon on the other end. That was when I finally saw something. There were four silhouettes, three of them standing around body down on all fours. Now don't you worry, I wasn't that stupid. All it took was the first glance for me to know something bad was going on. Three guys decided they wanted to have a little fun… only problem was that they chose the wrong kind. What's more was that it was a pretty ideal spot. As it was, the cops were too scared to just drive through this neighborhood. It would be down right fucked up for them to poke into alleyways like this one. I mean, shit, it even took balls for anyone around these parts to do something stupid like that. You never really knew what you were gonna find.

Now, as it is, I hate the lurkers around my place. But If there's one thing I hate more than them, it's rape. I don't see how anyone, and I mean anyone: man, woman, animal, pedophile, homosexual, whatever can enjoy forcing sex. The way I see it is that if it ain't even on either end, don't do it. But these fuckers, they're addicts. And you know how addicts get when they don't get what they want? They become violent mother-fuckers. In this case, they're some really unlucky, violent mother-fuckers 'cause even if they didn't know it, they were due for a taste of sweet, sick reality in the form of my brass-knuckles.

I started off with the guy who had her from behind. I grabbed him away from the girl as fast as I could. He only got the chance to scream a little bit before I started smashing his face in. I could tell the other two were getting scared when they dropped her to the ground and they started looking around the alley. I didn't give a fuck though 'cause all they heard was metal clobbering wet chunks of flesh, blood and skull into the ground. By the time I was finished with him, my hands were feeling really warm with his brains splattered all over them.

I got up to face the other two. When I did, I felt my foot clang against a piece of metal. That was what made them realize where I was. I knew I had to act fast 'cause it was gonna be pretty easy to get the drop on me. In that second, I got down and picked up the pipe, holding it like it was the one thing holding me up between life and death. My eyes were sharp and focused, glaring at the victims of what I knew was gonna be a wicked smack down. And I'm not talking about that fake wrestling crap. It was as real as it got.

They were eyeing me hard, not letting me out of their sight. I couldn't blame them 'cause if they did, I pretty much woulda killed 'em. But man were they ever pissed. Like I said, man, addicts. You take away their drug and they lose their heads. They become monsters. But, even if they were just angry slobs, I knew they were scared. I could see it all over them. It was a good sign. They weren't too solid as men. That made things much easier for me. Although, if there was one thing they had that coulda fucked me over though, it woulda been the fact that they were killers.

See, you can always tell when a man's taken life by the look of his eyes when he's about to take more. It's when you see their pupils dilate like crazy. You can say it's like blacking out any bit of their humanity so they won't be held back by emotion. Once that's gone, you've automatically got a 50/50 chance of getting out alive.

At the end of it all, I guess there was only one question left to ask: Was I scared enough to run?

I'm not gonna lie, being in that position is freaky. I remember my hand shaking real bad when I held on to the pipe. My whole body was steady. It was just my hand. When I think back though, it was hard to tell whether I was scared or just flat out pissed. I like to think that I became possessed by rage and 'cause of that, they were pissing themselves from how scared they were of me. At the end of it all, it didn't matter much 'cause I went flying at 'em.

The first one I fought put up a good fight. I don't know why the other guy stayed behind him, but I was pretty grateful for it 'cause this one was hard enough. We kept punching each other out, laying in one after another. What I wasn't expecting was the knife he had hidden up his sleeve though. He started swingin' it wildly, barely able to get me. I guess when you don't know how to fight, you struggle, huh? I can't say he struggled much though 'cause he managed to cut me up a bit.

He stabbed me in the arm and in my shoulder. It really hurt at the time, but it wasn't enough to stop me. I'm telling you, once I get adrenaline flowing in me, I'm almost impossible to stop. I even proved it to myself when I sent him flying into the wall with one swing of the pipe. It was then that I got a chance to finish the job when I turned to the last one standing.

He was a pretty scrawny son-of-a-bitch, not even worth my time. I didn't care about that though, still don't. A rapist is a rapist as a killer's a killer. The way I see it is that if they're gonna do evil shit like that, they don't even deserve to live. So what do you do with evil like that? You wipe it out with all you've got.

I whacked 'em both in 'til their heads were just bloody pancakes on the pavement. Even now, I can remember the air in my lungs feeling like fire after it was done. I breathed it out in growls, almost feeling like I became some kinda creature for those ten minutes of fighting. My heart was beating a million miles a minute and my body was starting to backfire on me with pain. I knew I was gonna feel like shit in the morning because of this, but I didn't mind. Something had to be done, and I was the guy to do it.

I looked down at the pipe in my hand, bringing it up and eyeing it for a moment before I hocked up from my throat and spit on it. Don't ask me why, it's common sense. I needed to wipe off the fingerprints for when the cops found this mess. Then again, I already knew that if they knew who to talk to, then it wouldn't have been too hard for them to find mel, fingerprints or not.

When I got the last of the adrenaline pumping through my body, I took out another cigarette and lit it up. It took me longer to do 'cause all I had was one good arm at the time.

I walked over and looked down at the woman sprawled out on the floor. She was unconscious, and pretty peaceful at this point. She needed rest. It wasn't hard to tell. From what I could see of her in the moonlight, she was really something. She had long hair, a slender body, kinda curvy, but not in the bad way. I could see why the guys had the hots for her. That don't make what they did right though. When I caught that in my mind, I felt pretty disgusted with myself for thinking like that. Shaking my head, I took off my bloody jacket and wrapped it around her. Though it took some time, I got her up on my good shoulder and I started to head back home. And I'll tell you what, it was a pretty long walk for a block and a half over to my place.

* * *

I tried not to drip that much on the floor by keeping my hand in my pocket while I carried her over my good shoulder. I was pretty lucky none of it hit the floor. Instead, it just soaked into my jeans.

Unlocking the door was a bitch. I had to let her down on the floor for a bit. From what I can remember of that night, I think her head ended up thudding against the wall when she hit the ground. It's pretty embarrassing when I think about it, but that's life, right? It's full of embarrassments... especially mine.

When we got in, I brought her over to my couch and lay her down on it as gently as I could. She may have been naked, but I was used to the view. Though, I'll confess, I did have a bit of a school boy moment before I got up and started to get cleaned up.

I went into my fridge and took out a piece out of the five that were still left from a pizza I ordered a couple of days ago. I was so hungry that I didn't even bother warming it up in the microwave. I took a big bite out of it, savoring that cold, cheesy taste like it was a sign from above. I still wished I'da warmed it up. It would've tasted much better.

I walked over to the bathroom and took a look in the mirror. I saw that the cut in my shoulder was pretty fucked up. What made it worse was that it was deep and it was bleeding tons. As it was, I was gonna have to call Katsu to stitch it up for me. In the meantime, I resorted to using gauze so I could cover it up at least. My arm wasn't so bad. It was more of a flesh wound than anything, just a big scratch. That was something I could work with. I'm not gonna lie though, the treatment hurt way more than the wound itself.

I poured a shitload of iodine on it by accident before I put on the gauze and wrapped it up. This shitty wrap-job happened in a matter of twenty seconds. By the time I was done, I had to run all the way to my bed and fucking scream into a pillow for two minutes straight. I'll never forget that. Fuck me, it hurt so much. I almost wished the bastard stabbed me deep so all I would've needed were some stitches and morphine.

When the fuck up was over, I took my face off the pillow, feeling drops of sweat sliding down my forehead as I sat my butt on the floor, my back facing the bed. I remember breathing pretty hard and my body feeling like it was burning up. It wasn't too long after that where I remember blacking out and my body thudding to the ground. The last thing I felt was something on my face. If I didn't know any better… I woulda thought it was a drop of rain.


	4. I Owe You Everything

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or the rights to any songs performed or written by Jimi Hendrix or The Birthday Massacre

Chapter 4

I Owe You Everything

That night was really fuckin' terrible. I can't even tell you what I was feeling 'cause.. there was just so much chaos, you know? I dunno… it's weird describing a near-death experience. It's… it's almost like… like you live more in those little bits of time than you ever lived before. And you feel it all: Pain, sadness, numbness, high, low, it's all there. And then you get to that border… you know, before you know you're dead, and you start to struggle. And man… I struggled more in those few minutes than I've ever struggled before. To put it real plainly, it's the most fucked up thing you're ever going to feel. And… to tell you the truth, I felt lucky to be alive.

I ended up waking up the next morning feeling dizzy as shit, a helluva lot worse than the day before. My head felt like it was being crushed and my body felt like a block of lead. And to top it all off, I was in a lot of pain.

I had to really gasp in the first few breaths to try and calm my body down. And that's not even mentioning that I needed to convince myself I was still alive. I mean, let's face it, after you go through something as fucked up as a near-death-experience, you can't help but question it for at least a second.

I still had a fever. I was only able to tell 'cause I was so dizzy and everything looked like it was melted, or melting. It was a good sign though; showed I was recovering alright.

It took me a lot longer to get out of bed than usual, and when I did, I almost fell flat on my face. But a familiar friend was there to catch me,

"Jesus, Sano, what the fuck are you doing out of bed?!!"

I couldn't help but laugh at how worried Katsu was. It was just a part of his personality. What's funny is that no matter how much he signals how he wants to be my boyfriend, I'd probably end up mistaking him for my mother. Honestly though, even though I find Katsu to be a really nice guy, I don't dig on dudes personally. No sex appeal, you know? "Just getting up to get some morphine, man… can't a guy do that in his own house?"

He was pretty frustrated with me, I could tell. He was real huffy, a lot like a Mom, "Sano, you're not going anywhere, you hear me? I don't care if I've gotta strap you to your fucking bed. Besides, you've got enough pain-killers in you right now to knock out a fucking horse," He said, picking me up in his arms and lying me back down on the bed, "You need your rest,"

I couldn't do anything else but laugh weakly as he tucked me in. I'll tell you one thing, it felt really weird being treated like I was seven years old again. Matter of fact, I couldn't even recall the last time anybody cared enough to care for me like that. Katsu, though… he's stuck with me through thick and thin. He's always been like a scared little brother to me.

He pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at me with a heavy glare in his eyes, "You know you're one lucky bastard. Probably the luckiest one I know," He said, wiping away a tear in one of his eyes, "I don't know who that woman was, but she fucking saved your life, I hope you know,"

I didn't remember what he meant at first. Woman? I thought. When did I..? And then it finally hit me. I remembered the woman I saved last night. And suddenly, my mind started working again, asking all these different questions left and right. But I had to get one thing cleared up before anything else, "Is she alright?"

Katsu continued staring down at me, nodding his head slowly, "Yeah… I had some coffee with her before the sun came up. She looked really beat out. She was bruised up, cut a bit, but most of all I saw that she was… shamed… I guess that's the best way to put it…"

I looked over at him, nodding my head slowly before staring back up at the ceiling, "Yeah… is she still here?"

"No, no… I called her a cab and she went home. She left her number though, and a note on the fridge. She asked me not to read it. She said it's something for your eyes only," At the time, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. But then, even though I didn't think it was possible, his expression became a bit darker than before and he asked me a question that really caught me off-guard, "Anyway, she told me some things… things I'm actually quite curious about… Tell me, Sano, what did you do last night?"

I didn't say anything for a while. I had no clue what to tell him. Then again, I figured he already knew the truth so there wasn't much explaining, "What I did is nobody's business but mine and hers, Katsu. I don't care what you, or her, or even Kenshin says, alright? I did what I thought was right. So whoever says otherwise can just go straight to hell… like I almost did…"

That was about all he could take, the poor guy. He started crying as he got up from the chair and he wrapped his arms around me. I guess I went on a little too strong at the time. He was already enough of an emotional wreck without me reminding him of things like that. Although, the way he saw it, he was worse off without me. I could never see the logic in him for sticking around, but I could never deny how much I appreciated it.

I brought up my good arm, patting him on the back and holding him close. He just needed to let it out. He must've been scared shitless to have cried that much. But I won't lie, before I woke up, I was even more scared than he was.

* * *

Now, there was one important question I completely forgot to ask him at the time because of how caught up I was. I had no idea how it was that this woman, whoever she was, saved me. When I was done resting though, I knew I was going to find out.

I got a chance to read the note she gave me, which didn't help me realize who she was at all. It just said, "Wake up and dream again. Life is coming on back to begin." Now, not a lot of people know this song, but it's something I tried out at about five venues. It's a song I wrote called "Heartbreak Blues". It was weird. I guess she knew who I was. But that didn't leave me anything to go with except her number.

I got out of bed at about noon that day and I walked over to the living room. I picked up the phone from the receiver and I dialed her up. I waited, listening to one dial tone after another 'til I heard a click. When I did, I kinda straightened up, opening up my ears so I could hear her. She'd picked up the receiver. I don't know why, but I was hoping I'd leave her a message the first time I called. Now, think about it. How fucked up do you have to be to think of doing something like that? Now that she picked up the phone, I had absolutely no idea what I was gonna tell her.

"Hello?" That was the first thing I heard her say. Judging off the top of my head, she sounded really drained out, like she had the life sucked out of her or something. I didn't know whether it was because she wasn't sleeping or because she was finally getting sleep. But her voice… it sounded a bit familiar. I almost got the impression as if I spoke to her before.

"Uh… hi. Hello, I'm… I'm Sano… Sagara Sanosuke, the guy who, uh… helped you out,"

It sounded like she gasped a bit when she heard my name. I didn't really know what to think, "Oh… um, hello… are-are you alright?" She sounded real timid-like. It was really cute, I found.

I sighed, nodding my head slightly, "Yeah, thanks to you. I heard you were the one who ended up helping me out in the end. I don't know how you did it, but I sure as hell appreciate it, I hope you know… and, uh… if you don't mind, I wanna find a way of paying you back,"

There was a long pause between us as I waited to hear what she had to say, "Um… I, uh… you don't.. you don't owe me anything, Sano… just… just don't call here again… Maybe one day I'll come and find you… Good-bye…"

And before I could even get a word in I heard a click on her end and the line was cut. Just like that she was gone. It didn't really click right away as I looked down at the phone, but I really did know who she was. I couldn't remember where I saw her for my life, but I knew that I'd heard her voice sometime before. How could she have told me not to call her back? Otherwise, why would she have given me her number? I didn't get it. Thus, I figured that was it. I was probably going to bump into her at some point or another. When that was, I didn't know. But I had a feeling it would be sometime soon, maybe even sooner than I thought.

* * *

It took another week for me to start moving my shoulder again. Don't ask me how the healing process works. At this point I just figure that guys like me who can take a hit just close up faster than most other people. Anyway, the moment I got the chance, I was hitting the pavement again looking for some more gigs. The first day out, I didn't manage to find anything all that good. The smaller venues weren't paying all too much to have me around and I needed the money pretty bad. The next day though, something happened that I never really thought was possible.

Just for the hell of it, I tried looking in the more upper class clubs. You know, any place that at least looked like it'd take the kind of music I played. And who would believe it… I managed to get a week's commission at this club called The Mad Hatter. It's a really themed kind of joint. You basically can't get in if you've got nothing that looks good under a dark light. Anyway, I went in there, showed them the material I had and before I could even say anything, they had me for one grand a night. Imagine that, one thousand dollars a night! That was easily one of the greatest gigs of my entire career.

* * *

It was the first night of my commission. For the first couple of nights, I was gonna be playing with the club's band to give the people in the bar a feel for what I do. That night I figured I'd wear an old hippie get-up I had lost somewhere in my closet. At the time, I was backstage with all of the band members. Everybody was in costume with some kind of gothic thing going for them. I felt pretty out of place, but fuck it, what can you do sometimes, eh?

Anyway, I don't remember much of what the other guys said to me before going out there, but what I do remember is how hard it was for me to take my eyes off the singer. I don't know what it was, but there was just something about her that really made me kinda go into a trance, you know? Shit, it was so bad that when we got on stage, I didn't even realize we moved at all.

She wasn't too tall. She had long black hair with these purple stripes in it. She was wearing white make-up and black lipstick. Her body was so… I don't know, man, just so perfect. She wasn't skinny, but she wasn't big either. She was healthy looking. I guess if you wanna get real technical, her features were… I think the word is elegant. She just had this kinda way that was really graceful, sexy and dark at the same time. Her eyes though… it was them, which caught me off guard completely. She had these really dark blue eyes that just looked so… fascinating, I guess. Haha, put it this way, she was beautiful enough to make me use all these words.

Anyway, it was only when we got our announcement that I finally got the chance to wake the fuck up and get my guitar ready. When the drummer counted us down with a one, two, three, it was off, man. The first song was something called Video Kid by this band called The Birthday Massacre. It didn't ring much of a bell for me, but it was pretty easy to follow.

But the singer… man, oh man was she sweet. I can remember the way I soloed my way around the rhythm section, and when it came the time for me to launch into my main solo, she went right up against me, her hand slithering its way under my arm and across my chest like a snake. Oh man… I don't give a shit what anyone says, that was damn seductive.

Now, we went on for another four songs after that before it came to my number, which was the halfway mark of the show. I decided that this time around I would take on that old tune of mine. Whoever that woman was, she reminded me of the importance to have your own material when you're performing. And when I thought about it, that was a damn good song I had that I really never liked to perform. But this time around, I decided that now was better than never as I stepped up to the mic and I announced the song I was gonna play,

"Hey, uh… this is a little different from what we've been playing so far. It's an original inspired by the tunes of Hendrix, it's called Dreamy Night Blues,"

I started up with the main riff of the song, which was this really bluesy flavor of guitar. It was sweet and sentimental, but with that edge to it that really makes a blues tune a blues tune. Finally, I stepped up to the microphone and I started to sing it,

"Lonely nights… They're like every night of the week… Oh yeah, those old lonely nights… they're just like every night of the week… Those lonely nights I dream of you… My mind goes dark and bleak…"

Ah man, the moment I started busting out the old licks I had for this song, it was easily one of the freest moments for me when it came to music. I couldn't believe how good it felt. I mean, in the beginning I guess I never really liked the song because I didn't know how to put the passion into it right. But when it came to this time around… I just don't know. It was too crazy to describe,

"My mama done told me… that lovin' will beat you in… Yeah, oh my mama she told me… that love's got a.. way to win… She said, baby, wake up and dream again… 'cause life's coming on back to begin… Aw yeah, here it is, one more time…"

I went in for one more solo that the band really seemed to dig a whole lot. The crowd seemed to feel it, too. I mean, from what I could see anyhow 'cause fuck, I was so into it. She, the singer though, was watchin' me the whole time. I don't know what it was that made her do that, but she couldn't take her eyes off me. And then, when I started to go back into the last verse, she started singin' with me. I didn't see it comin', but I was too lost in the music to be distracted, man, you know?

"My baby done broke my heart… and you know that just ain't right… You know, my baby broke my heart now… and I didn't put up a fight… Now I don't need her lovin', nah… but who knows? Somebody might,"

With that, I made my final solo of the night with a wave after wave of distortion from my whammy bar and just like that, I felt myself feelin' the blues more than I'd felt in the longest time. The club was hollerin', the band was smilin', and the singer was starin' at me like you can't even imagine. It was a fuckin' night to remember.

* * *

By the time the show was over and we got paid, I was about ready to head back to my place, you know? The guys in the band were staying for an after party and they wanted me to stick around. I woulda dug it 'cause they were some real hip cats and chicks, but it wasn't my scene. So I just tipped my hat to them and headed off.

I was about to head out the door when I felt a hand grab onto mine and I heard a whisper of a really familiar voice in my ear, "Don't go yet… we need to talk…"

All too easily, my mind was changed.


	5. Not So Healthy, Wealthy, Or Wise

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters. Oh well, I think it's better that way. I wouldn't know what to do with them… maybe have a tea party?

Chapter 5

Not So Healthy, Not So Wealthy, Not So Wise

We sat inside a booth at the coffee shop just across the street. She bought me a cup while getting herself an espresso considering how tired she was. Now, I'll say this. Near death perception of a person is way different from a normal perception. Before I saw her now, I remembered how she looked, but only if you add a lot of blur to the picture and make it look like a bunch of paint colors on an easel.

With her make-up off, I gotta admit she really had beautiful features. Her skin looked smooth, for one thing. It almost looked as if it could've been like a doll's face at a glance. Her hair was long and smooth, the color being a dark shade of brown that reminded you of the kind of color you'd see in an oak tree. Her lips stood out real nicely, too. I don't mean to say they were big like Angelina Jolie's lips, but they were just a really clear part of her face, you know? And finally was her eyes… god damn, if I can only explain how gorgeous her eyes were, you'd probably have to knock me out just so I'd shut the fuck up.

But the horny stuff aside, I was just real glad it was her, the woman I rescued the week before. And from the looks of things, it seemed she was doing pretty okay for the most part. There was some stuff about her that felt off though. I couldn't put my finger on what they were, but I knew there were some things.

She was real quiet, not sure about how to talk to me now that we were here face to face. I'm pretty sure she felt real uncomfortable 'cause I was staring at her a lot. I mean, yeah, I know it's rude, but shit, give me a break here. For a while I was worried if I'd ever see her again at all and I was curious as to how she was feeling. Other than that, what do you expect me to do, be some cold bastard and just ask her straight out, 'Why did you ask me to come here?'

"So…why did you ask me to come here?" Yeah, I know what you're thinking: Stupidity knows no bounds. At least I'm pretty sure that's what Kenshin woulda told me.

She kinda hesitated at first, feeling real unsure of what to say. I guess I kinda broke her thoughts with that question. Goes to show I really _can_ be one cold bastard every now and again. But why I was at that time, I can't even guess, "I… um, I… I just… I wanted to see if you were doing alright…"

Even still, I was just real impatient at the time, so I didn't buy it at all, "There's more of a reason than that. If you really wanted to know I was alright, you would've just figured that seeing me on stage was enough proof for you,"

She was quiet after that, doing her best not to look at me. But I wasn't afraid to look at her. Hell, for all I knew, she was probably thinking that I was gonna rape her this time around, "I know why you called me over here, you feel like you owe me something, right?"

Still nothing, but I didn't care. I just kept calling her out, "If that's the case, you don't owe me anything. I saved you, you saved me, we're pretty much square. But… if you're feeling in the mood to just answer some questions; you wanna answer some questions for me? Then we'll call it truly even,"

It took a few seconds, but she finally looked up at me with a kind of sad and tired look in her eyes, her hands wrapping themselves around her espresso before she spoke, "What kind of questions?"

I followed along with her, picking up my own cup that'd been sitting in front of me for the past ten minutes and I finally took my first sip of it before askin' my first question, "For one, what's your name? I didn't catch it when they announced the band tonight,"

She seemed to ease up a little, which was good. I wasn't diggin' on the vibe between us at the time all that much, "I'm Megumi. Takani Megumi,"

Takani Megumi. Yup, the name really rang a bell. But I was just too stupid at the time to figure anything out about her, "That's a nice name," I said, watching as she sheepishly nodded her head as some kinda thank you for sayin' that. Even still, I was starting to wonder if I was wastin' my time with this woman. I mean, I had questions, yeah, but what were they worth if it was just for some chick who was just gonna clam up on me like this? I wanted her to trust me. I mean, I saved her life. Wouldn't that be enough of a gesture to earn at least that much?

"Listen, am I scaring you or somethin'? If I am, tell me now, then I won't have to waste your time and you won't be wastin' mine," I let it out 'cause I wasn't in the mood to be talkin' with her over coffee about little basic facts, "I'm not gonna be calling you out the whole night, I don't have time for that. What I really wanna know for sure with all this is whether or not you're gonna trust me 'cause this is just ridiculous,"

I stared her down for a couple of minutes as she kept her eyes away from mine. It was only when I saw a tear fall from her eye and onto the table that I finally started to pull myself back. Man, if I could I'd kick myself in the head for being such a fuckin' ass that time.

Now, see, I knew there were two things you should never believe: Salesmen and the tears of a woman. But the tears were something I always thought could be an exception sometimes. For one thing, thanks to staring at her this whole time I could tell she was absolutely exhausted. It looked like she hadn't been sleeping for days 'cause she didn't carry herself like someone who was rested. It also looked like she hadn't really eaten much either. She didn't look skinny, but her hands were shaking an awful lot. It wasn't from fear though. If it was, I would've seen it.

I remember heaving a sigh as I reached out to put my hand on hers. When I did, she began to cry even more. I presumed way too much. For the time, I was just too busy looking for answers. I didn't even think I was pushing her too far at the time,

"I'm sorry," I told her, "I don't mean to be so harsh, alright? It's just… I didn't expect to see you here. When you came to me today, I didn't know how to react… Take your time. There's no rush here,"

I couldn't stop her from crying, but something happened that eased my tension a bit. I could feel her turn her hand over so her palm was up against mine and her thumb rubbed gently against mine. I looked down at it for a second before looking back into her face as she finally started to talk to me right, "I… I trust you…" She said, her eyes still being weighed down by her tears, "I didn't… I didn't mean to keep you away… but I… I can't let you be a part of my life…"

I was kinda surprised when she told me that, and 'cause my curiosity just didn't know when to stop, I had to ask about what she was talking about, "Why's that? Are you some kind of prostitute or somethin'?"

Now, before I tell you what her answer was, let me just say this, I didn't expect her to tell me it was true. The only reason I asked was not only to make a bad joke, but at the same time it came from a bit of street logic from where I lived. They were around, and I didn't have anything against the girls who went into the job 'cause it made money. Anyway, it was common knowledge that cases like hers happened for the most parts to prostitutes. In her case though, I was just really convinced that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But at that point I knew I really shouldn't have asked that question 'cause she didn't tell me anything. She didn't have to though. I could see it in her eyes that this was what she did, and she didn't like doing it one bit, "Aw nah… are you fucking serious?" I was pretty shocked, I'm not gonna lie. That wasn't why I asked that question though. It was 'cause just from knowing that, I saw just what kind of trouble she was in. And it was going to take a lot to get her out of it. That was why most people wouldn't even try. I'm not most people though, "And this is how you wanted to pay me back…?"

Again, she didn't answer me, and I just sat there lookin' over at her as if she was the sorriest fuckin' sight I'd ever seen in my entire life. And that night, when I was sitting in front of her, she really was. I didn't know what to say to her anymore. After that, all I remember was pulling my hand away slowly from hers and I started walking away from the booth. When I did, she called after me, which made me stop to hear out what she wanted to tell me, "Thank you," I heard her say. She was crying so hard, I could almost barely tell if that was what she said. And just before I left to go home, I looked back at her and I nodded, adjusting my guitar bag over my shoulder, "Nah… thank you…"

AN: Thanks to everyone who's submitted a review up 'til now! I'm really grateful to you guys! If it's cool, I'd really like to hear what you guys think is gonna happen next with the story. If anyone's interested, I'd really like to hear your take on the subject. Til then, peace and love everybody.


	6. She's a Fuckin' Whore, man

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or have the rights to any of the characters in the series.

Chapter 6

She's a Fuckin' Whore…

I holed up in my apartment after seeing her that night. I didn't wanna see her, or even think about her. I mean, fuck, what would you do? Call the police? The fuck are they going to do about some bitch who sells her cooch out for money like that? For all I know, they probably had her a couple times around, too! Nah man, that wasn't going to work for me. When the truth came out, everything changed. Now, I know what you're thinking. What's a guy like me, some brawlin' blues cat making such a big fuss about? I'll tell you.

See, when I saved her life there, somethin' happened, somethin' I don't expect most people to understand. When I saved her and she saved me, there was a connection made there between us. It was more than friendship and less than love, that's why I don't have a name for it. But I felt it, and Lord knew she felt it all the same. So whatever y'all are thinking, whether I'm crazy or whatever. Honestly, I don't give a fuck.

Anyway, I was sitting there on my couch with a joint of reefer in my mouth, fire fizzling at the tip. I took every toke like the air I was breathin'. My acoustic was on my lap and I was playing some quiet tunes. I decided to focus on the style of a later John Lee Hooker to get my mind out of the bullshit that it was in. But seriously, I couldn't have got out those thoughts out even if I had a damn knife to cut my head open. They were stuck on me like a bitch in heat.

At the time, I'm pretty sure I was too high to even hear the knock Katsu made at the door, but he let himself in like he usually does. He walked over and sat himself down next to me. He waved his hand in front of my face to see if I'd gone brain dead or somethin'. But fuck that, man I was gone as I could possibly be. It was only when he slapped me that I stopped playing my guitar and I looked over at him. I wasn't thinking it at the time, but I knew damn well he was mad at me,

"Wow… shit, are you that high, Sano? What's in that joint?" He asked me.

I had to think about his words for a second before they finally made any sense to me, "Uh… what was the last part?" Alright, I was baked, sue me.

He just kept on lookin' at me, shaking his head, taking the damn thing out of my mouth so's I could get some air instead. Boy did that do me some good. Gave me a head rush, but it was better than getting more fucked up than I already was, "So? How'd everything go tonight, man, that bad or that good?"

Again, it took me a bit of time just to understand what the fuck he was talking about before I finally told him what went on, "I saw her, man… the woman… Megumi,"

That got him goin'. I could see his eyes get all wide as if he just out of nowhere became a fly 'fore he went and asked me his next question. Funny thing is he completely forgot about the show, "Holy shit! Oh my God! So what happened? Is she alright?"

It was about that point where I put my guitar next to me and put my feet up on the coffee table, and I broke the news to him, "She's a fuckin' whore…"

He raised an eyebrow at me like I was some dumbass motherfucker… which I was at the time 'cause he didn't get a bit of what I was sayin', "Why? Is she with somebody else?"

"Nah man… not a slut, she's a whore. She's sellin' her cooch, man," And all at once I saw that motherfucker almost jump away from me as if I was the Devil himself tryin' to get him to sell his soul.

"What the fuck do you mean she's a fucking prostitute?"

Thing was, and still is that I can't believe how calmly I managed to say it to him like that. I mean, this woman saves my life, performs with me, invites me for coffee then I suddenly learn she's sellin' her ass off to tricks around my neighbourhood. I mean, the weed wasn't even that good. Guess shock is as shock does, "She works around here sellin' her ass to any guy who's got the money for it… and I'll tell you straight, she's not happy about it… I'm not too happy about it either…"

That was when he almost took my face clean off as he sat beside me again and he grabbed my head, turnin' it in his direction, "Listen, Sano, and you'd better listen to me, alright? Now, I know how you feel about things like this. Especially when it comes to women, alright? But let me just tell you this, she's not Uki, alright? You managed to get her out of that life once, but that was a long ways ago, okay?"

When he brought up my sister, something clicked so bad in my mind that I almost felt that I could've hugged him as easily as I would've killed him just to get him out of my way. Uki… my sister, Higashidani Uki, if you could believe it, was a prostitute. But it didn't last long, and that's 'cause I laid her pimp out, but good. What's weird is this all happened last year. She's 17 now. When he said her name, I was just about ready to go freak on whoever Megumi's pimp was.

Katsu was lookin' real scared now. He knew he shouldn't have brought it up, but with a conscience like his, you know he means well. But fuck, was I about ready to kick some wholesale ass. I remember how I got up and out of the couch as if I didn't even smoke that joint. Then I hit the floor and passed out… What? Were you expecting me to get on a shiny white horse and ride off into town guns blazing with a.. ah, fuck it, let's just move on.

AN: Glad to be back on Fanfiction. I plan on finishing this story come Hell or high water. Hope you peeps enjoy the chapters to come. I'll be writing the crap out of this thing. That's a promise.


	7. Click Click

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters who are used in the following text.

Chapter 7

Click-Click

The next day, I woke up feeling like my brain was an old piece of over-toasted bread. But I didn't forget what Katsu told me, and that made me realize what I wanted to do. I was gonna have to do some detective work of my own. And I wasn't about to go and get Kenshin involved 'cause I knew the bastard would commit me to a loony asylum the first chance he got. I love the guy like my own brother, but he worries too damn much. He needs to relax some.

So all I got to me are my fists, a pair of brass knuckles, a baseball bat, which don't really count 'cause it's my home security, and a 12-gauge pump shotgun, my personal favourite. This son-of-a-bitch packs the biggest punch like y'all can only imagine… unless you've seen too many action movies… like I did.

It was about nine o'clock at that time so I figured I'd get some shit done that needed to get done. Like pay my rent, for one. I went up to the landlord's place and handed it all to him in a one-shot deal, including next month's. Felt pretty good. I mean, it beats bein' in debt, know what I mean?

Anyway, after that, I went back to my place and made some breakfast. I always had cereal. If you wanna know why, it's 'cause of two things. One, I'm a shitty cook. Two, it's cheap and great for the munchies. Either that or goin' out for a burger. Only time that ever happened is if Kats asked me out to dinner… and I wasn't afraid of him rapin' me. Haha, nah, that's bullshit. But… yeah, don't kid yourself, he's tried gettin' in my pants.

So I was thinkin' about it. Who coulda been Megumi's pimp? I mean, I'm not the kind of guy who usually ends up rubbin' shoulders with those kinds of motherfuckers. I'd beat the shit out of 'em and leave 'em hangin' upside down from the downtown bridge bleedin' like a stuck pig. Man… that makes me think of pork… I'm hungry, I'll be back in a bit.

A couple hours passed where I did nothing but sit on my ass playing some more guitar, tryin' to figure out who I'd go to ask about Megumi or her pimp. I thought long and hard about it. Who the hell did I know who was associated with underground shit like that? Katsu was kind of in the know, but that was only because of an old ex-boyfriend of his he kept on good terms with. Kenshin knew things.

At the time, I was thinking way too far out of the box. If only I'd've known the puzzle piece that was gonna fall right into my lap that minute when a knockin' came at my door. I looked at it for a second, my eyes like cherry tomatoes and my body feelin' numb as cold turkey. I got up and walked on over, opening it up to find some motherfucker standing there as if he knew who I was.

This punk looked American, some white fucker who made sure to let you know he had balls just by the way he looked at you. He was shorter than me, but who wasn't, usually? I could tell he was packin', too. Don't ask how, it's just body-language. You gotta know a lot of that to stay alive in these parts. He had a tattoo that ran from the back of his hand up his right arm. And even if he wore a clean cut suit, I could tell this fuck's seen his fair share of evil. He just had that look.

I leaned on my door, cocking my head his way so he knew I was busy and I wasn't in the mood for dealin' with assholes tryin' to sell me shit, "Somethin' I can do for you, bud?"

He didn't say much to me, except when he handed me this wad of cash rolled up nice and tight. When I got around to counting it afterward, it all came up to two large ones. I wasn't ready to just accept it though. There was a catch. There had to be, "You're Sanosuke, right?"

Now, I'm not gonna deny I wanted this asshole out of my doorway, but he wasn't gonna budge unless I threw him out the window or something like that. Still, I found it kinda weird he knew my name 'cause I had no fuckin' clue who he was, "Who wants to know, slick?"

He smiled at me, this slimy fuckin' grin through painted white teeth. He mighta looked clean on the outside, but with the way he was actin', I could tell this guy was greasy. Somethin' about him just didn't feel right, "I'd like to pass on a word of thanks. If it wasn't for you, she'd probably be dead. And she's one of my favourites. So, from her, and myself, to you, thank you, Sano,"

If I hadn't been thinkin' so much about her, that woulda probably bounced right off my forehead, "Who's 'she'?"

The greaser gave me a weird look for a second like the 'she' was rhetorical or somethin', "You are the man, who saved Megumi, aren't you?"

Just like that, I was about ready to throw him out that window with his money… well, alright, I'da kept the money, but I wanted to kill that motherfucker!

It didn't take long before I grabbed him by his shirt and tossed him into my place, closing the door and lockin' it. When I looked back at him, he had a knife out, gettin' ready to charge my ass. It was a good thing I knew how to handle him. I just grabbed his wrist, then his neck and slammed him against the wall. Man did he look pissed! He was strugglin' his ass off against me. I wasn't gonna be moved though.

We were face-to-face, my forehead pushin' against his so his head stayed against the wall and he wouldn't try some smart-ass shit. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty thankful Kats didn't walk on us 'cause… well, alright, he'da helped out. But still, after that, I could totally see him trying to get some the rest of the day. Even if he is screwin' with me… sometimes I just gotta wonder with him.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, YOU FILTHY SHIT!"

Haha, yeah, that got me laughin' inside. I mean, by the time I was finished with him, I forgot about that. But lookin' back just gives me a tingly feelin' of nostalgia, "Alright… let's talk straight!"

I cracked the bitch's head against my wall, bringin' him to the floor. He was a screamer, I won't lie to ya. But I had him under control. This was gonna be a messy job. Just the fact that he was packin' a knife was enough to tell me that much. It's either that, or he was plannin' on killin' me anyway.

So I got him up from there and slammed his face in a couple times. The guy was cryin' after that. I could see why. Shit, I put four or five dents into my fuckin' wall. Came to show I still had the touch from playin' muscle back in the old days when me and Kenshin did the whole vigilante thing. Well, that's not countin' the fact that I beat four or five guys to death just the night before.

After a good ten minutes, this guy was nice and raw. I could see some bruises that were gonna look mighty nice the next day comin' up on his eyes and cheek bones. But he looked like he was about ready to talk.

I walked over to my kitchen and brought over a chair to my livin' room for him to sit down in and a dish rag. I had to pick his ass up otherwise he was just gonna keep stumblin' like a dizzy fool and I stuffed the rag in his mouth to shut him up.

Just to be careful, I checked him for other guns and shit 'cause I knew this guy had to be packin' some other shit aside from that knife. You don't go up to some cat's door just like that without some insurance, I knew that much.

I didn't find much. A snub-nose .38 hidden in his pants, his car keys, an old Caddy from what I could tell, and his wallet. No ID. That was at least one smart move on his part. Still, comin' up here like this, it didn't feel right. I figured it was a good time to start the questions,

"Who do you work for?"

The son of a bitch was persistent. I beat him up, but damn well better than any other muscle-head was gonna do to him, that's for sure. Keepin' a lock and key on his info was a bad idea, especially when it comes to me. See, I only look like some idiot who just makes the muscle happen. The fact is nobody really knows just how fucked up I can get. If I need information, I don't give a damn what it takes to get it. I got my limits. But as far as inflicting pain's concerned, there weren't a lot of guys who could match up to me when it came to torture.

"You… you don't… don't know what you're… doing…"

"Then you seriously don't know who the fuck I am," I blasted a punch right to his ribcage. I could feel at least two of them crackin' 'cause of that hit. And that was me being merciful. The bad part's comin' up real soon,

"Look, man. I'll admit. Right from the start, you striked me as the kind of fucker who usually gets his way with your suit, and this kinda greasy air about you. I don't like it. Fact is, just lookin' at you's makin' me sick right now. Almost feels like I gotta go wash my hands or somethin'. Anyway, I'm not gonna give no ultimatums 'cause if there's one thing I'll give to guys like you, it's the fact that they're like cockroaches. Death's not much of a playin' chip. But, what I can promise you is that if you don't tell me what I wanna know…"

I took the knife he had planned to use on me, a nice little ice-pick with a green kinda false-jade handle on it and I looked him in the eye. He didn't look too afraid, which was pissin' me off. Just a bit more time, I thought. That's all it'll take. Jus' a bit more time,

"I'm gonna start by cuttin' off your fingers. When they all come off, I'll move on to your hands. And for that, I'm gonna need a much bigger knife, and knives I got. Don't you worry 'bout a thing. I'll take care of you good, boy. Now from there, I'm gonna get you some morphine 'cause I know otherwise you're gonna be screamin' like a bitch worse than without it. But one thing's for sure, man. I ain't afraid to tear you apart,"

He was stewin' now. He was eyein' me like I was crazy, but I could tell he knew I was crazy enough to do more than just the shit I was talkin' about 'cause of the way I was smilin' at him. I'll tell ya, if I was a tiger, I'd be king of the jungle and the goddamn savannah. Lions wouldn't have shit on me,

"Now… ready to talk, boy?"

He didn't answer me at first. He just ended up spittin' in my face. It was bloody on top of it. Not a nice thing to take to the face, even if you knew you had it comin'. Well, that was it, I thought. I had to give a sigh 'cause of how easily this motherfucker coulda just walked away and gone to warn whoever it was he worked for. He wasn't the pimp, I knew that for sure. He didn't have the same kinda swagger. Or a bodyguard. He was just a grunt. So it's basically a 'what goes around, comes around' kinda deal.

"Alright, man. You brought this upon yourself," I picked up my cell and dialled up the number of the one guy I knew who was cold enough to haul this sorry son-of-a-bitch out of here in pieces and do a good clean-up job on a good price. We went way back, so I knew he'd be able to help me out without a second word about it,

"Yeah… I need to talk to Shinomori Aoshi… tell him it's Sano," I grabbed him by the collar and started walkin' toward the bathroom. He was wrigglin' like crazy, but he couldn't move. I paralyzed his joints all over. He wasn't goin' nowhere, "Yeah, Aoshi? Yeah, I need you to come down. Can you be here in a half-hour? ... yeah… yeah, real messy. Bring another guy if you have to… thanks,"

I could hear him continuin' to struggle, tryin' to get away from me. He was done, though, man. From then on it was nothin' but blood, guts and a shitload of adrenaline. I was gonna get whatever I could out of this fool, and I was gonna do it all with a wide-ass grin. This was gonna be a prelude to a fuckin' symphony. Once I got my info, there was no place I was gonna go 'til I killed Megumi's pimp. She gave me a second chance. I was gonna return the favour. No matter what it cost, I had to.

AN: Come on, people. I need feedback here. What can be improved? What do you like? What do you hate? What kind of characters do you wanna see get involved? Let me know, everybody! Be back soon with another chapter. Peace 'n' love.


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